LEE CASSWELL has warned of the FA Cup threat posed by lower league Bridgnorth Town.
The unbeaten Midland Alliance outfit will be aiming to deny Leek Town a spot in the third qualifying round at Harrison Park on Saturday. And after dumping Evo-Stik Northern Premier table-toppers Rushall Olympic out of the competition in the previous round Casswell is refusing to write off the Meadow Men.
The Blues boss said: "Rushall play a league above us and they beat them 3-1 at their place. They are a good side and are probably looking at moving a league up themselves this year.
"We can't take anything for granted and need to make sure we are set up right on the day. We have seen the way they play and where their strengths are. We will certainly not under-estimate them."
Casswell's charges are also through to the next round of the FA Trophy are overcoming Warrington Town on Saturday to pick up £2,300 in prize money. The Blues will host either Radcliffe Borough or Farsley in the FA Trophy on Saturday week - and will have already have boosted club coffers by another £4,500 if Bridgnorth can be put to the sword.
"We certainly don't get any extra pressure (from the Leek Town board) but we understand the need for a half decent cup run," added Casswell. "We are certainly doing alright in the cups and have given ourselves a decent chance in the next round of both competitions. You can't ask for much more than two home draws."
Blues will welcome back midfielder Sam Hall and free-scoring Peter Wright for Saturday's FA Cup clash. Striker Tim Grice is a doubt with a slight hamstring strain while Ant Danylyk and long-term injury victim Dan Cope both miss out. However, Cope could be back sooner than expected after fears he would require a knee operation were quashed.
The Blues boss refused to put a time-scale on the fleet-footed striker's return. He added: "He'll require some physio and then need to build up the strength in his knee. It's then up to Dan."
Town's cup exploits mean next Tuesday's trip to Market Drayton Town will be their first Evo-Stik fixture for three weeks. The Blues must then wait another 11 days before hosting Stamford on October 6.
But Casswell is unconcerned with potentially losing ground in the battle for promotion. He added: "At the end of the day we will catch up. we have a big enough squad to cope."
Meanwhile, Leek CSOB's poor start to the season continued with a disappointing 3-0 FA Vase reverse at home to Bewdley Town on Saturday - the same side that Casswell's side hammered 4-0 just seven days earlier. CSOB travel to Holker Old Boys this weekend.
